A long-rumored bout between onetime Strikeforce women’s middleweight challenger Gina Carano (7-1 MMA, 0-1 SF) and Sarah D’Alelio (4-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) is expected to be part of the main card of “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum.”

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the pending matchup, which was first reported by Nonstop WMMA, with sources close to the event.

Sources told MMAjunkie.com verbal agreements are in place with contracts expected to be signed shortly.

However, as of today, the fight remains unsigned.

“Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” takes place June 18 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and the main card airs on Showtime.

In February Carano returned to active training after she took an extended layoff when Hollywood came calling. The women’s MMA superstar booked a lead role in the Steven Soderbergh-helmed “Haywire” opposite Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas. The movie is expected to be released in August.

Recently, Carano moved her training from Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture, where she had previously prepared for some of her most high-profile fights, to Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn’s gym in Albuquerque, N.M.

“She’s got the talent, and she has a great work ethic,” Jackson said. “Those two things will take you as far as your will can. As I get to know her more as far as helping her out for the fight, we’ll get to a better sense of it. But, she definitely has all the talent and all the potential in the world.”

Carano has not fought since August 2009, when she lost a bid for the first-ever Strikeforce women’s middleweight title at the hands of Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in a Showtime event bearing their names. The headlining fight drew 856,000 viewers on the premium cable channel while the event averaged 576,000, which held the Strikeforce-Showtime ratings record until earlier this year.

D’Alelio, meanwhile, is hoping to rebound from her first professional loss, which came this past December via decision to previous Carano opponent Julie Kedzie. It was her first professional setback after four consecutive wins, three of which came in the first round.

The Latest

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?